cominginsecond
Decentralized Media Mogul
I've had this for a couple weeks, and I really like it on certain sources.
For backing vocals, or vocals that you don't want a high-end sheen on, it's pretty dang good, at least on my voice. I placed the center of the mic right below my mouth without a pop filter, and it was smoooooth!!! Not great for everything, but when you're looking for a sound that's a departure from the "in-your-face", enhanced sound of a lot of LDCs, this is a great alternative.
On amps, it's really great. Much better than a 57, in most cases. A lot mellower and richer, with a much better low-end response.
I read two reviews that stated that they liked it on acoustic guitar, so I tried it on that, and I didn't like it at all. Not enough sparkle on the high strings. It was better than any other dynamic I've used on acoustic, but I would still never use it on a serious recording. I might consider using it live on acoustic if I didn't want to use a condenser.
I liked it all right on snare, though I think a 57 beats it for the type of music I do. The Ball added too much low end thump to the sound.
I really liked it on floor tom. It handles low-mid frequencies really well, and also captured the drum's attack well. This and amp were the sources that this mic really shined on.
I did not like it on kick. The frequencies below 100 hz seem to get lost with this mic.
I didn't try it on bass amp, but I suspect that it would be great in this application, especially for rock and punk genres where the really, really low end frequencies in bass are not as important (and, usually, just get in the way.)
With all this said, don't buy any hype that, because it's phantom-powered, it combines the frequency response of a condenser and the rugged durability of a dynamic. (I think I read something like this in the Sweetwater catalog.) Basically, it's just a really good dynamic that happens to be phantom powered. In fact, it is probably the best dynamic I've ever used (which may not be saying much because I've never used a SM7 or a Sennheiser 441).
For backing vocals, or vocals that you don't want a high-end sheen on, it's pretty dang good, at least on my voice. I placed the center of the mic right below my mouth without a pop filter, and it was smoooooth!!! Not great for everything, but when you're looking for a sound that's a departure from the "in-your-face", enhanced sound of a lot of LDCs, this is a great alternative.
On amps, it's really great. Much better than a 57, in most cases. A lot mellower and richer, with a much better low-end response.
I read two reviews that stated that they liked it on acoustic guitar, so I tried it on that, and I didn't like it at all. Not enough sparkle on the high strings. It was better than any other dynamic I've used on acoustic, but I would still never use it on a serious recording. I might consider using it live on acoustic if I didn't want to use a condenser.
I liked it all right on snare, though I think a 57 beats it for the type of music I do. The Ball added too much low end thump to the sound.
I really liked it on floor tom. It handles low-mid frequencies really well, and also captured the drum's attack well. This and amp were the sources that this mic really shined on.
I did not like it on kick. The frequencies below 100 hz seem to get lost with this mic.
I didn't try it on bass amp, but I suspect that it would be great in this application, especially for rock and punk genres where the really, really low end frequencies in bass are not as important (and, usually, just get in the way.)
With all this said, don't buy any hype that, because it's phantom-powered, it combines the frequency response of a condenser and the rugged durability of a dynamic. (I think I read something like this in the Sweetwater catalog.) Basically, it's just a really good dynamic that happens to be phantom powered. In fact, it is probably the best dynamic I've ever used (which may not be saying much because I've never used a SM7 or a Sennheiser 441).

